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Bird scooters removed from Indianapolis streets

INDIANAPOLIS -- As the debate continues on how to properly regulate electric scooters in Indianapolis, Bird has announced it will be removing its scooters from the streets.

The Indianapolis City-County Council met June 28 to discuss an ordinance that would allow the city to license “shared mobility systems” like Bird, and its competitor, Lime. Currently, the city bans the scooters from the streets, but it has not enforced the ban.

A Bird spokesperson released the following statement:

"We are glad to be working with Indianapolis to build a framework that permits affordable transportation options that help the city reach its goals of getting cars off the road and reducing emissions. While this work is underway, we have agreed to remove our scooters from the streets of Indianapolis and started removing vehicles on Wednesday, 7/11. We hope the ordinance and its resulting permit process is completed as soon as possible so we can get back to helping people easily get around Indianapolis."

The proposed scooter ordinance is scheduled for a hearing before the full council on July 16. The proposal would allow the city to grant licenses to shared mobility companies at a cost of $15,000 a year, plus $1 per scooter. That money would be used in part to improve the city’s existing transportation infrastructure.